Tea for Two
by Wanderer Of Silence
Summary: Entry for the Pro-Bending Competition! A short story about the Uncle-Nephew bonding that Iroh and Zuko has :) enjoy!


**A/N:** _Hey there guys! This is my entry for the Round 2 of the Pro-Bending Competition :) Enjoy!_

 _Team: White Falls Wolfbats_

 _Position: Earthbender_

 _Prompts Used: (character; Medium) Zuko, (word; Easy) Checkmate, (dialogue; Easy) "You can't rush these things"_

 _Chess Piece Used : Bishop - write about someone who is close to a leader or important figure (in my case, Zuko is the leader and the someone is Iroh)_

 _Word Count(excluding A/N): 1, 399_

* * *

"There! There he is! Surround them!" The prince ordered his soldiers to attack a group of travelers sleeping around a fire.

He was standing at the edge of the boat, looking through a telescope, trying to see through the thick fog of the cold lake. He lit up a fire to warm himself up while his body shivered from the night.

"Zuko! Come here, why don't you spare sometime with your uncle?" Iroh was sitting on the deck, holding two cups of tea.

"No, Uncle! This is an important mission! The Avatar is vulnerable from attacks right now. It's the perfect chance for me to capture him."

"Oh, don't worry. There will always be a time for everything. Right now, let your men handle this. You don't have to go. Come sit with me and let's talk this out through some nice hot Jasmine," Iroh stood up and offered his nephew a cup of tea.

Zuko slapped the teacup out of Iroh's hands. "There's no time for tea, Uncle! These men are of no higher caliber than me! I'm going to capture him. It's up to you to decide whether you want to help me or not!" The fire prince turned around and his cloak flew across Iroh's face.

Iroh stood there for a while, contemplating about what happened. He looked up at the dark sky, its eyes glistening above the fire nation ship.

"You two are so alike, my son. He reminds me of you all the time." Iroh smiled but a saddened sigh escaped his lips.

His feet dragged across the ships dock as he went inside his chamber to sleep.

* * *

The light shone from the room's window and faint chirps of sparrow-hawks sung outside. Iroh groggily awoke from his slumber and yawned.

A certain ruckus was creating noise outside his room. He went further down the hall and saw his nephew holding the collar of one of the Fire Nation soldiers.

"Zuko! Enough!" Iroh said sharply. He was honestly surprised that he was acting so violently at such an early hour. Something happened and no one was happy about it.

Zuko scowled but pulled away, letting the man stumble to the floor.

"What are you doing? The sun has just risen and you start the day with a fight?" Iroh placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder.

"Me? What am I doing?!" Zuko demanded angrily. "Why don't you ask that squad leader over there about what happened?" He gestured to the colonel.

"G-General! It was ju-just too m-much! We were overpowered by the Av-Avatar." The leader stumbled to his feet.

"It's alright. We'll just have to try agai—"

"He wasted my men!" Zuko interrupted, sneering. "Uncle, he's the only one left from the squad! I don't have nearly enough men to even make an attempt at capturing the Avatar!" He stormed away and slammed the door behind him.

"I'm sorry for his behavior. I'll talk to him. For now, gather the remaining soldiers who are able to help track the Avatar." Iroh helped the man up and made sure he was able to stand without too much difficulty.

The prince was standing on the ship's deck when Iroh confronted him.

"My nephew, I understand your frustration but, you can't rush these things." The old man paused.

"This is everything I wanted. To bring back the honor I lost to my nation. The Avatar is the key to my desire!" He snapped, not bothering to turn around.

Iroh stood beside him. "I already requested for them to try to track the Avatar. They'll be on their way shortly. You shouldn't treat them like they're so expendable," he looked at his nephew. "People don't always get the things they want but if you let yourself think about it before making actions, that is when someone becomes successful in their dreams."

Zuko stayed completely quiet. "Looks like you're actually right, Uncle." He replied eventually.

"I can't say I'm wrong!" Iroh laughed. "All of this talking makes me want some tea. Would you like to join me? I'll brew my special jasmine!"

Zuko didn't smile but Iroh could hear slight amusement in his tone when he replied, "Fine. You won't leave me alone unless I say so, anyways."

* * *

"…and thats what the filthy traveler said!" Iroh laughed, almost spilling his tea.

Zuko was playing with his cup, completely ignoring his Uncle. From time to time, he would nod to satisfy his uncle.

Though Iroh continued talking, he knew that he was clearly uninterested.

"That's it? Where are the great tales of the Dragon of the West?"

Iroh, saddened by his nephew's words, stood up and placed an arm on the teen's shoulder. "We've been on this ship since the day you we're banished and I have seen many great sights in this journey but seeing you grow up and learn to lead the men in this ship is the greatest tale that I will be able to cherish in my whole life." He smiled.

For a second, Zuko looked torn between shock and sentimentality before his usual glare made its way back to his face. He was about to speak when the door opened and an armored soldier came in.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we have located the Avatar! They fell right in to the trap you set."

The prince stood up quickly "Finally! Tell them to set sail near the trap and gather men for an attack! Make it quick!" He ran off to suit up in his armor and left his uncle behind.

Iroh sighed as he stood up to clean the table he drank at. He followed the attacking team through the woods where the Avatar was.

* * *

A hooded boy was caught in a metallic cage barely big enough to hold him high up in a tree.

"Checkmate, Avatar" Zuko said smugly, looking up where the cage was. "Take him and search for the others!" He ordered his men.

As the men held on the Avatar, they removed his hood and to their surprise, it was a certain Water Tribe boy that came with the Avatar. "W-wait! I didn't mean to step on this!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Wh-Where is the Avatar?! I thought you captured him!" Zuko looked at his men.

Before anyone could respond, Sokka yelled "I'm here, Aang!"

A wild gust of wind whirled the Fire Nation's footmen. The prince was standing with his arms in front of his face to block the air coming at him. He released fire balls and aimed at the cloud of dust.

"Katara! Get Sokka out of here!" The Avatar exclaimed. He released a handful of blows on the fire prince. He saw an opening and took the chance to freeze Zuko's feet on the ground.

As the dust settled, the Avatar, Sokka, and Katara were gone. Zuko groaned in pain and couldn't destroy the ice on his feet. Luckily, Iroh was there as he cracked them with his fists.

"Let's go, Zuko. We need to retreat." Iroh helped his nephew walk.

"No! I…I have to capture him!" Zuko was very clearly in pain as he spat out his words but still insisted on shoving Iroh away.

"Don't be foolish, my nephew. Look at you. You are in no condition to fight. Please, listen to me and don't be stubborn about it. I am here for you." Iroh attempted to calm the prince.

Zuko tried standing on his own but only ended up hurting himself and nearly busting his head on an inconveniently-placed rock if his uncle hadn't caught him. "Get your hands off me!" He snarled, pushing Iroh away and as subtly as he could, he leaned against a tree.

"I understand your frustration. You won't be able to catch the Avatar if you're hurt like this. We'll find him." His uncle persuaded, hoping he would get through to him. Whenever Zuko was angry, he tended to be harder to convince.

"Only because I can't walk properly," he complied, the hostility not leaving his tone.

It didn't seem like much, but Iroh knew that the admission that he was hurt was something that he'd never admit to, much less do anything about it and took slight comfort in the fact that his nephew trusted him enough to say so. His pride was probably taking a beating because of it. _One step at a time_ , he thought.


End file.
